In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish explores Denmark’s prolific bridge culture, focusing on recent and historic structures, their design quirks, and their impact on daily life. He notes that over the past decade Copenhagen has added five major new bridges, each with distinctive aesthetics and playful names such as the Kissing Bridge, which repeatedly opens for ship traffic and has earned a reputation for mis‑alignment. He also describes other pedestrian‑ and cyclist‑only bridges – the Bicycle Snake, the Brewing Bridge, and the newly opened Little Langebro – highlighting their visual appeal and functional challenges. Mellish then shifts to historic infrastructure, recalling Queen Louise’s Bridge (1887) as a social hotspot for evening drinks and dating. The discussion expands to Denmark’s major inter‑island links: the Øresund Bridge to Sweden, the Big Belt Bridge (once the world’s second‑longest) that carries cars, trucks, and trains but closes during high winds, and the two Little Belt Bridges connecting Funen to Jutland, one still usable for guided bridge‑walking. He recounts a scandal involving Crown Prince Frederik driving over the Big Belt Bridge while it was closed to traffic. Looking ahead, Mellish mentions a planned Lange Linje bridge near the Little Mermaid, which must accommodate large cruise ships with rapid opening and closing mechanisms. He notes the friction this creates for tall‑masted sailboat owners, who must pay roughly €200 per bridge opening. Finally, he outlines Denmark’s growing tunnel sector, including a tunnel‑factory producing sections for a forthcoming tunnel to Germany and a future car tunnel beneath Copenhagen’s harbor, while acknowledging that tunnels lack the artistic charm of bridges. The episode closes with promotion of Mellish’s books and social media channels.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. I don't do a lot of stock investing, but If I did, I'd want to go back in time and invest in companies that build bridges in Denmark. This country is on a tear when it comes to bridge building. Over the past decade, there have been 5 new major bridges in Copenhagen alone, and at least one new major one is planned. And because this is Denmark and people love design, each bridge has its own special look. You can't just put up a few bridge supports and a deck on top for traffic. You need style. And you need a colorful name. Consider, for example, the Kissing Bridge in Copenhagen. It's not named that because you're supposed to kiss on the bridge, although you can if you like. It's named that because it breaks in half on a regular basis to let ships through. And then it's supposed to come together again. Like a kiss. The Kissing Bridge has needed to visit a relationship counselor, however, because there have been constant problems getting it to kiss. It wasn't quite aligned the way it was supposed to be. It seems to work now, although it's rather steep and a difficult ride for bicyclists. Which is rather a shame, because it is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge only. There are no cars on it. The Bicycle Snake and the Brewing Bridge, a little further down the harbor, are also just for cyclists and pedestrians. And so is the Little Langebro Bridge. The Little Langebro Bridge is currently the newest bridge in town. It officially opened this summer. Now, this is a neighborhood I don't go to often, and I remember coming home from a late-night engagement To suddenly find a new bridge in front of me, all lit up and ready to serve. Whoa! Unexpected bridge. It was like a dream. But it's not just new bridges that are a key part of Copenhagen culture. Queen Louise's Bridge in the center of town was completed in 1887. You can see it in a lot of oil paintings and museums. Now it is lined with benches, and if you're in the age group that enjoys drinking beer on a bridge and checking out the dating possibilities, Queen Louise's Bridge is the spot for you, especially in the evenings when the weather is good. All throughout Denmark, there are delights for bridge lovers. There's the magnificent Øresunds Bridge that links the country with Sweden, and in the other direction, the Big Belt Bridge stretching from Sjælland, the big island where Copenhagen is located, to Fyn, the small island where Odense is located. The Big Belt Bridge was once the 2nd longest bridge in the world, but has since been bounced back to number 6. Now, this bridge does take cars and trucks and trains, and because it's so long, sometimes the winds get so strong that they threaten to blow these vehicles into the water. When this happens, when the winds are strong, the bridge is temporarily closed, resulting in long lines of cars and trucks waiting on each end for it to open again so they can cross. One of the few public scandals in the life of Crown Prince Frederik, the future King of Denmark, was when he ordered the staff of the Big Belt Bridge to let him drive over while the bridge was closed to other traffic. during a storm. He has since apologized. In addition to the Big Belt Bridge, there is also a Little Belt Bridge, or actually 2 Little Belt Bridges. Both of them go from the island of Fyn, where Odense is located, to Jutland, the big part of Denmark that is attached to Germany. One is currently in use as a bridge, the one that was completed in 1970. But the previous version, completed in 1935, is still in place. You can go bridge walking on it with an approved guide, although you have to be relatively strong and willing to wear a harness. You also need to have 0% alcohol in your blood to be allowed on the bridge. If you have a Danish 100 kroner note in your pocket right now, take it out, turn it over, and you'll see a picture of the Little Belt Bridge. There's currently one major bridge in the planning stages in Copenhagen, at Lange Linje, by the Little Mermaid. Now, there's a challenge there because Lange Linje is where the big cruise ships dock. So architects need to design a bridge that will let the big cruise ships through, which means the bridge has to be able to create a lot of space relatively quickly, but then close up again quickly before too much traffic builds up on each side. Perhaps you think that everyone loves a beautiful bridge. But there is one group of people that does not: people who own sailboats. The pretty bridges that have been put up recently in Copenhagen Harbor will slow you down if you own a boat, or at least a big wind-powered boat that can't sail beneath the bridges. All the bridges have been built tall enough for the regularly scheduled harbor bus to clear. But the tall-masted sailing ships, many of which are privately owned by some very powerful people, have to wait for the bridges to open up. They have to order an opening in advance by telephone for a fee of about €200 per bridge opened. What sailors like better than bridges are tunnels beneath the water. Tunnels are a growing business in Denmark. Denmark is currently building a tunnel to Germany. And to do this, they've created a tunnel factory, which you can see from the water in Copenhagen. In the factory, they create bits of the tunnel and then tow them to where they're supposed to be and submerge them. When they're done with the German tunnel, the idea is to create a tunnel underneath the harbor in Copenhagen for cars. As much as Copenhagen likes to bill itself as a bicycle town, The number of cars keeps growing, and young people's number of trips by bicycle is shrinking. But a tunnel will never have the grace of a bridge. Or the artistic appeal. Or the poetic, picturesque name. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Our new book, the updated version of How to Work in Denmark, will be out later this fall. But in the meantime, check out our other books: How to Live in Denmark, Working with Danes: Tips for Americans, or Working with Americans: Tips for Danes, all available on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Books, or you can order them directly from our webshop at books.howtoliveindenmark.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn. See you next time! Hej!
